It’s not just homophobia

Homophobia is just not a big deal to people. To most of them, it’s nothing; the non-homophones don’t bat an eye because “hmm Ghanaians dier…” So in today’s post, instead of saying “they’re homophobic” and leaving at that because it’s bad enough, I’m having to say “not only are they homophobic, they’re also…” Sigh. Well, let’s get into it. As usual, I’ll start with a backstory and make it make sense at the end. 

Francis Xavier Sosu. Do you remember him, the lawyer who cheekily asked why anyone would advocate for the rights of queer people? The first time I mentioned him was in this post. Francis is a member of parliament for the National Democratic Congress, who describes himself as a human rights lawyer and activist. The first time I saw the expression selective social justice warrior was the first time I heard of him. He never misses an opportunity to remind us that some human beings are not worthy of his advocacy. At the NDC rally in December, he led a homophobic chant to which his party members responded with great enthusiasm. He irresponsibly and untruthfully said in his interview with Berla Mundi that homosexuality is illegal in Ghana. A human rights lawyer who hates gay people and misrepresents the law to push his party’s political agenda should not be a member of parliament. But this is gay people stuff so who cares, really? 

Sammy Gyamfi is the acting CEO of Ghana Gold Board, and the National Communication Officer for the NDC. He holds a public office and is therefore subject to the 2025 Code of Conduct for Public Officers. Section 1.2 of the Code states that a minister, among other things, must perform their public duty in a way that withstands the closest public scrutiny, and they comport themselves in a manner befitting the confidence placed in them. Sections 1.5.12 and 1.5.13 state that public officers should not accept gifts from commercial enterprises and other organisations. If the officer receives a gift, they must submit it to the Secretary to Cabinet. Hampers can only be purchased for selected members of the officer’s staff as a reward for their service or an end-of-service benefit. This implies that the exchange of gifts between a minister and a non-minister raises ethical concerns, wouldn’t you agree? So, here’s what happened: On his way back from an event, Sammy Gyamfi bumped into Nana Agradaa and handed her a bunch of US dollars upon request. It raised a bunch of questions on social media: Were these funds disclosed to the Cabinet? Should ministers of state hand out cash in such a public manner? Does this not constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct? Of course, one knows for certain if those funds were disclosed, or whether the funds are his or the state’s. There’s also the fact that the Code of Conduct speaks specifically to receiving cash, not giving it out. 

This is where my basic legal education comes in. There is what is referred to as ‘the letter of the law’ and then ‘the spirit of the law’. The letter of the law represents the exact words used in whatever legal context is being referred to, and the spirit of the law refers to the purpose for which the law was created. Considering the spirit of the law is useful as it is impossible for every possible scenario to be included in a constitution or any other legal text. In this context, the law says not to receive gifts from members of the public. To me, this law exists because the lawmakers understood that gifts influence the recipient’s decisions and their perception of the person who offered them. Aren’t you likely to vote or campaign for someone who does you favours or gives you money? This is essentially how we decide who to vote for in our general elections: ‘ABC donates money for school and hospital projects, so we will vote for them.’ 

Any sensible person, especially a lawyer, would know that the controversy around Sammy Gyamfi’s actions is not unfounded. I know better than to hold lawyers to high moral standards because what they do is study the law well enough to find loopholes in it so they and their clients can get away with things that are not explicitly illegal even if they go against the spirit of the law. 

Francis Xavier Sosu tweeted not only in support of Sammy Gyamfi, but as if Sammy Gymafi and his party, NDC, were victims of some orchestrated attack for political reasons. You would think someone so used to victimizing a group of people would be able to handle a little backlash, but alas, we stand corrected. Francis had the nerve to talk about “haters” and imply that people’s very understandable disappointment was nothing but jealousy. The only thing I found somewhat surprising was the fact that people expected any better from him. 

Sam-George Nartey. I won’t ask if you remember him, because he has worked hard to be well-known, and for no good reason. Sam is now the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation. Since the anti-LGBTQ+ bill was introduced in 2021, he has communicated lies and bigotry towards the Ghanaian queer community, but again, who cares? It’s just gay people he hates, right? Well… not exactly. Remember his constituency, Ningo-Prampram? One could argue that he hates them too, looking at the state it’s been in for years in terms of access to economic resources. Not to mention the articles published on child sex trafficking in his constituency, which he of course dismissed as lies. This man has been a loudmouthed twitter warrior for years and no one cared. They even praised him for being “bold”. Maybe they thought he would calm down after being awarded a ministerial position, but the last thing anyone like him needs is more power and audacity. Today, I see many people on Twitter complaining about his arrogance. 

This is how “honourable” TwitterFingers responds to criticism towards his political party, the ruling government, and his work as a public officer: like an internet troll in his twenties. Homophobia means nothing to most Ghanaians, but respectability is everything. Hopefully they’re offended enough to get him out of public office. I doubt it, though, but it’s interesting to see that their feelings are more important than queer people’s human rights. We've also seen how uniquely Francis Xavier Sosu Esq. practices the law, haven't we? Two cheeky yappers who have attacked a marginalised group for years, but can't handle a bit of criticism without playing the victim. It's almost amusing to watch.

Homophobes are often questionable in more than one regard, but not enough people are questioning them. What’s it going to take for the rest of Ghana to open their eyes and more importantly, acutally do something?